If Swaziland's contested budget is allowed to go through, the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, as an absolute monarch, will increase its spending on security this year and extra money will go to the police to improve 'crowd management services'.
The government hand-picked by the King has allocated nearly E2.7 billion (US$216 million) for the kingdom's security forces that comprise the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF), Royal Swaziland Police Service (RSPS) and His Majesty's Correctional Services (HMCS). This is more than the E2.2bn allocated to health in the coming financial year and E585 million more than allocated to security in 2016-2017.
Swaziland is well known for its culture. Their holidays are